Twins: Are we putting too much pressure on Jose Miranda?
The Minnesota Twins have an up-and-coming star in Jose Miranda, but are we putting too much pressure on the 23-year-old?
No one saw this kind of season from Miranda, not even the fans or the organization. If they did, they would have protected him in the Rule-5 Draft. Luckily, other teams didn’t see that in him either, and he’s still a part of the Twins’ organization.
Before the 2021 season, Miranda was hitting .252, with an on-base percentage of .302. If you saw those kinds of numbers in High-A and Double-A, you wouldn’t expect much out of him in the future.
That’s where we’re wrong.
In 2021, he started the year at Double-A and was elite. In 194 at-bats, he finished hitting .345, with an on-base percentage of .408.
That kind of play warranted a callup to Triple-A, where his numbers were not as good. That’s only just a joke; Miranda played pretty damn well for the St. Paul Saints. He hit .343, with an on-base percentage of .397.
Between the two levels, he hit 30 home runs and 94 runs batted in. His batting splits were .344/.401/.572.
When you see that kind of production, you start salivating over the idea of him becoming a future All-Star and potentially winning a batting title.
Is it possible that we’re expecting too much out of him?
At this point, I think we need to cool our expectations. Minnesota fans, myself included, tend to put too much pressure on their young prospects because we want to win so damn bad. We did it to Joe Mauer, and we did it to Byron Buxton.
It’s gotten to the point where we’re playing with the idea of trading Josh Donaldson. I understand that his contract is a lot of money, and he’s had a history of injuries, but why would we want to get rid of him? JD can rub people the wrong way with his competitive fire, but he wants to win so badly.
If the right deal came across, I’d consider moving him, but last season Donaldson was very good. He finished hitting .247, with 26 home runs and 72 runs batted in. He also had a wins above replacement of 3.2.
There might be a solution, and that’s moving Miranda to shortstop. However, if the Twins believe he’s their long-term third baseman, then maybe Donaldson should be the primary designated hitter.
He looked a lot healthier towards the end of the season, and that’s because he was playing DH.
Heading into this season, the Twins should slowly acclimate Miranda. He has a bright future ahead of him, but I think we fans are expecting him to put up big numbers right away. I’d argue he’s the most anticipated prospect in the organization right now.
The pressure is high, but I believe he will deliver.
